Long Island briefs

HUNTINGTON

County to bill town for $800G road work

Suffolk Public Works Commissioner Gilbert Anderson said yesterday the county is preparing to bill the Town of Huntington for $800,000 worth of work it did in repaving a 3-mile section of Townline Road.

Anderson, testifying before county lawmakers in Hauppauge, also said the county intends to ask state Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald to direct the town to take back the road that has been the subject of an ongoing legal dispute with Huntington.

After decades of maintaining the road, the town sued the county in 2009, arguing that Townline and several local roads were part of the county road system. The county countered that the town built the roads on town property, and they were included in the county road map in 1930 simply as a way for the towns to receive federal aid for the roads.

The town won in State Supreme Court and the Appellate Court ruled unanimously in 2011 that "these highway law statutes lead to the inescapable conclusion that the county has the authority and duty to repair, maintain and improve the county roads in question." The Court of Appeals declined to hear the case.

While the court rulings require the county to maintain the road, Anderson said it also provided the county an avenue to recoup funds and get the road redesignated as a town road.

Although the lawsuit involved only Huntington, the impact on the county could be substantial because Suffolk's nine other towns also have similar roads that are part of the county road map. Should other towns follow Huntington's lead, Anderson estimated it would expand the county's responsibility from the current 500 miles to 700 to 800 miles of road.

A.J. Carter, town spokesman, had a different interpretation, saying the court made provision for the town to recover money it had already spent on maintenance. "Court decisions have clearly confirmed that this is a county road, and it's the county's responsibility to maintain it at their cost," Carter said.

SYOSSET

Speed limit on busy road now at 35 mph

The Oyster Bay Town Board yesterday lowered the speed limit on busy Underhill Boulevard from Jackson Avenue in the downtown business district to Jericho Turnpike from 45 mph to 35 mph.

Councilman Chris Coschignano said the action stemmed from requests from local civic and PTA groups after several accidents on the road that is used as a bypass for Jackson Avenue.

There were no speakers at a hearing before the vote.

BRENTWOOD

Hearing on heroin, drug use today

State Sen. Phil Boyle has scheduled a public hearing Wednesday on heroin and prescription drug use.

The hearing is to begin at 11 a.m. at the Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood, in the Van Nostrand Theater. Boyle (R-Bay Shore) is chairman of the Senate's Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Committee.

According to the release, a government study shows 620,000 Americans admitted using heroin last year, twice the number from 2003. A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States. Every day in the United States, 2,500 people between the ages of 12 and 17 abuse a prescription pain reliever for the first time, the study found.

"I believe it is imperative to change current state laws and policies to better protect children from these life-destroying drugs," Boyle said in the release.

LONG BEACH

Music fest raises funds for groups

The halls of the Long Beach Public Library were hardly silent Saturday night when The Roadhouse Band took the auditorium stage.

About 75 people filled the auditorium as the band blasted Americana and country favorites such as "Proud to be an American" and "Footloose." Before The Roadhouse Band started their set, Mick Hargreaves and Mike Bifulco brought their electric slide-steel guitar duo to the stage.

"We're able to give people the opportunity to be exposed to music that they might not necessarily go to the city to see," said Johanna Mathieson-Ellmer, 64, one of the event organizers. "We bring it here."

The library and Long Beach-based nonprofit Artists in Partnership Inc. held their second annual Kickin' Country Music Festival and Food Drive last weekend to help celebrate Veterans Day and Thanksgiving. The country music celebration debuted three years ago but was canceled last year because of superstorm Sandy.

Admission was free, but the audience was asked to bring canned food for the Long Island Cares Harry Chapin Food Bank.

Half of the money raised from raffle ticket sales throughout the two-day festival will benefit the Friends of the Long Beach Public Library. The other half goes to Artists in Partnership.

Mathieson-Ellmer, director of Artists in Partnership Inc., said the best parts of the Kickin' Country Music Fest and Food Drive are the people.

"I love the music -- I love to meet the musicians, people that I never met before, I've never worked with before; but I love the audience," she said.

FLOWER HILL

Trustees to vote on architectural panel

Trustees in the Village of Flower Hill will vote next month on whether to create a new architectural review committee.

"We're taking the building permit committee, changing the name and giving it some teeth," Mayor Elaine Phillips said at a Nov. 4 public hearing on the proposed law.

The committee would be an advisory body to the board of trustees and would have three members, including one trustee. Members would examine construction projects with an eye toward surrounding property values, land use and the overall appearance of the village, according to the proposed law, and make recommendations to the board of trustees, which will decide whether applications should be approved.

Trustees are slated to vote on the creation of the committee at their Dec. 2 meeting.

RIVERHEAD

Students to perform at concert Dec. 3

After rehearsing for three months in a renovated carriage house in downtown Riverhead, nine middle and high school students from central and eastern Long Island are scheduled to give a free concert -- their only public performance -- on Dec. 3 at the Eastern campus of Suffolk County Community College.

The students were selected to take part in the Music Masters Fellowship Program offered by the Riverhead-based East End Arts, a nine-week tuition-free string ensemble workshop run this year by professional cellist Nico Olarte-Hayes, who has given solo performances at Lincoln Center and was assistant conductor of the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra in 2011.

The East End Arts program started in 2011, and the student band that year gave a rock concert. The students this year range in age from 12 to 17, and there are five violins, one viola, two cellos and one double bass. The musicians come from Riverhead, Westhampton Beach, Sachem High School North and the Bellport Middle School.

The concert will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Shinnecock Building on the community college campus on Speonk-Riverhead Road.

BAY SHORE

Halloween donations a treat for troops

At the Play N Trade in Bay Shore on Saturday, 1-year-old Dante Valentin reached for an overflowing box of Halloween candy, but he was there for the purpose of donating candy, not taking it.

Jessica Taylor and her husband, Jim Valentin, brought their son to the store to donate a bucket of chocolate bars and mini bags of Sour Patch Kids to the radio station 94.3 The Shark's inaugural "Treats for Troops" drive.

The rock radio station set up a booth outside the store to collect leftover Halloween candy to send to the troops overseas. Anyone who donated candy got a $5 gift card to Play N Trade in exchange.

"Jim's grandfather was a U.S. marshal in the Army," said Taylor, of Huntington. "We've always done anything we could to support our troops. And this keeps our kids from rotting their teeth. They have enough candy as it is."

Since the drive launched on Oct. 28, the radio station has collected nearly 500 pounds of candy, stored in 42 boxes that have filled the Play N Trade's back room, according to store owner Richard Berezein.

"Anyone in the military already gets a discount when they walk into the store," said Berezein, 37, of Selden. "Why not give back to those serving us overseas, providing them with a little comfort from home."

Most of the donated candy came from a drive organized by Levittown's Paul Rauch, a sophomore at MacArthur High School, and his class, Berezein said.

Simone Domonkos, account executive at 94.3 The Shark, said the U.S. Marine Corps will be shipping the 500 pounds of candy to troops serving in Afghanistan as soon as possible.

NEW HYDE PARK

Buyer sought for closed Dublin Pub

Since a July auction, New Hyde Park's Dublin Pub, a popular haunt for rockers until it became condemned by the state liquor authority and closed earlier this year, has yet to be sold.

"We have a couple of groups that are coming in, coming out, we'll solidify a deal sooner than later," said Misha Haghani, a real estate attorney and principal of Paramount Realty USA, the firm handling the auction. "Hopefully, we'll get a deal done soon, and we can bring this to a close."

An auction scheduled for June 26 was postponed after last-minute interest intensified. The winning bid for the rescheduled auction, on July 24, was rejected by the seller of the property, Scott Blitzer, Haghani said.

Haghani declined to reveal the value of that bid, but said "there have been higher offers made since." The suggested opening bid for the space, at Jericho Turnpike, was $899,000.

The bar has operated since 1936; at one point it was called "Barton's Cantina," run by James Barton, the vaudeville, television, and film actor.

But the 6,400-square-foot building is largely empty now, with some leftovers of the club in tact: leather seating, a lighted stage, and two long wooden bars. Paint remains splattered across beams.

In March, Liquor Authority chairman Dennis Rosen assailed the bar for violations, mentioning referrals from Nassau police that included teens seen intoxicated. Four bartenders were later arrested and accused of selling alcohol to a minor, the agency said.BRIGHTWATERS

Neighborhood group to discuss break-in

The Brightwaters Neighborhood Watch plans to hold a general meeting Monday and discuss a recent attempted break-in.

The hourlong meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Bay Shore/Brightwaters Library at 1 South Country Rd. in Brightwaters.

Brightwaters Neighborhood Watch Coordinator Carmine Chiappetta said in October, a local home was the target of an attempted robbery.

"Last month we had an attempted break-in through pet doors," he said. The suspects fled after "they tried to undo the door and they tripped the alarm." He said there was a similar incident in May.

Chiappetta said transportation may be provided to residents who want to attend the meeting.

SOUTHAMPTON

Plan banning pols on land use board fails

A proposal that would ban political committee members from serving on Southampton land use boards failed on a split vote yesterday, but might be resurrected after a new town board majority takes power in January, the resolution's sponsor said.

Councilwoman Christine Scalera, a Republican, and Councilman Jim Malone, a Conservative, defeated the measure on a 2 to 2 vote.

Scalera said the amendment was "put forth in the interests of partisan, divisive, political gamesmanship."

She said advocates had failed to put forward any law or issue that makes this a pressing concern.

Bridget Fleming, a Democrat and sponsor of the amendment, said there was a "circle of influence" between the political committee members who help nominate candidates for town council, and council members who appoint the boards.

Those boards have say over $65 billion in real estate, she said. "There's a perception here," Fleming said. "People have always thought that it's an insider's game, that they're not part of it."

Eleven of 21 members of Southampton's planning, zoning board of appeals and conservation boards are Republican or Conservative Party Committee members, Fleming said.

Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst praised the current board members but supported the vote because, she said, of the perception of a conflict.

Malone said he was voting against it because he believed that board members could put the town's interests ahead of their parties. "I still believe in the better side of angels," he said.

Councilman Chris Nuzzi, a Republican, was not present at yesterday's meeting.

But the ban's defeat might be short-lived. Brad Bender, an Independence Party member who ran for town council also on the Democratic line, spoke in favor of the resolution yesterday. He called it a step "toward transparency and open government." He and Stan Glinka, a Republican, were leading the race for two open seats on the town council on Tuesday, as the Suffolk County Board of Elections was finishing counting absentee ballots.

Fleming, after the vote, promised to bring the resolution in January.